Converter bracket for a lift bucket

ABSTRACT

A converter bracket for a lift bucket carried by a mobile unit such as a tractor and enabling the attachment thereto of a working tool such as a scraper blade, fork lift, bush rake, snow plow, or the like, comprises a frame provided with a clamp means whereby said frame is removably affixed to the lower portion of the lift bucket. The frame is adapted to receive thereon the desired working tool.

United States Patent Lamb [54] CONVERTER BRACKET FOR A LIFT BUCKET [72] Inventor: Ross H. Lamb, 1501 Colfox St., Benton Harbor, Mich. 49022 [22] Filed: Mar. 16, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 19,890

[52] US. Cl ..37/l17.5, 248/226 B, 248/228 [51] Int. Cl. ..E02f 3/62 [58] Field ofSearch ..37/117.5;248/228,226B

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,763,931 9/1956 McMillan ..248/228 X 2,798,296 7/1957 Liskey 3,349,933 10/1967 Simpson et al.. 3,097,439 7/1963 Calkin ..37/1 17.5 3,230,645 1/1966 Lutz ..37/117.5 X

[451 May30, 1972 3,469,330 9/1969 Hood et a1. ..37/117.5 3,440,744 4/1969 Smith ..37/1 17.5 2,644,251 7/1953 Smith ..37/1 17.5 2,488,695 1 1/1949 Upton Lawrence Johnston....

Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Clifford D. Crowder An0rneyGordon W. Hueschen [5 7] ABSTRACT A converter bracket for a lift bucket carried by a mobile unit such as a tractor and enabling the attachment thereto of a working tool such as a scraper blade, fork lift, bush rake, snow plow, or the like, comprises a frame provided with a clamp means whereby said frame is removably affixed to the lower portion of the lift bucket. The frame is adapted to receive thereon the desired working tool.

8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmvao I972 3, 665 622 sum 1 or 3 55 figure /0 INVENTOR.

ROSS H LAM I[[ 55 f 6 dun-p6 YA y 2 irrm 3 PATENTEDwamsra 3,665,622

sum 2 ur a E 7 58 figure 5 figure 9 INVENTOR. 35

figure a BY AT ORNEY sum 3 or 3 figure 7 g 22 INVENTOR.

ROS H LAMB f/gure 6 2 71m; 9 Y" v S 6RNEY3- ATT CONVERTER BRACKET FOR A LIFT BUCKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 7 For material handling and loading a lift bucket loader, also sometimes 'referred to as front or rear end bucket loader, hydraulically operated and carried by a mobile unit, is commonly employed. Frequently during use, however, a need arises to change over to a scraper blade, a rake, fork lift, snow plow, or the like. Methods for effecting such a changeover usually involve the removal of the lift bucket and the remounting of the desired working tool, which methods are cumbersome and costly inasmuch as a substantial expenditure of time and effort are required to implement the change.

Several attempts have also been made in the art to provide an adapter bracket which would dispense with the otherwise requisite removal of the lift bucket; however, such attempts have been limited to adapters designed for a particular working tool such as a scraper blade, for example, require cumbersome connections, and do not possess universal applicability and versatility needed for an efficient utilization of available machinery and manpower with least capital commitment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The herein disclosed and claimed converter bracket for a lift bucket is of universal applicability and can readily accommodate a wide variety of working tools. The converter bracket comprises a frame means adapted to hold a desired working tool and a clamp means integral with said frame means and adapted for attachment to the lower portion of a lift bucket. The clamp means comprises a bearing member and a movable pressure plate which is urged toward said bearing member while a portion of the lift bucket is held therebetween.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a tractor-mounted liftbucket provided with the converter bracket of the present invention having a scraper blade affixed thereto;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a converter bracket of this invention without a working tool attached thereto;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation of a converter bracket taken along the lines IIIIII shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partially in section, of a clamp means of the present invention with the pressure plate positioned transverse to the bearing member;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the clamp means of FIG. 4 taken at 90 to the view thereof in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevation view of a clamp means of the present invention with the pressure plate positioned in substantially longitudinal alignment with the bearing member;

FIG. 7 is an elevation view, partially in section, of the clamp means of FIG. 6 taken at 90 to the view thereof in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a pressure plate assembly;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of a transverse member of the converter bracket frame means; and

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional elevation view of the clamp means shown in FIG. 2 along the line XX.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, a tractor 10 (FIG. 1) provided with a hydraulically operated lift bucket 11 is fitted with converter bracket 12 to which is attached a bulldozer blade 13. Alternatively, any other desired working tool such as a fork lift, bush rake, or the like can be attached to bracket 12 in lieu of blade 13.

The converter bracket 12 (FIG. 2) comprises a frame means 25 made up of at least one side frame member 14 having a front leg 15, back leg 16, and lower leg 17. The side frame member 14 is triangular-shaped, with the front leg 15 and back leg 16 converging and fixed relative to each other at their upper ends. When more than one side frame member 14 is utilized in mounting a working tool, a transverse member or bar 18 connects the several side frame members 14 in a spaced, parallel relationship to each other. The transverse member 18 can be secured to side frame member 14 by means of angle bracket 19 welded thereon and bolt 20, by welding, or any other convenient manner. If variable spacings between the side frame members is contemplate during use, the former securing method is preferred.

For convenience in obtaining the desired spacing of the side frame members, notches or recesses 21 (FIG. 9) can be machined in the transverse member 18 along the lateral edges thereof for often used spacings. These notches can be adapted to engage either the lower leg 17 of the side frame member 14 or the bearing member 22 immovably secured to the frame means below the lower leg 17 of side frame member 14 and spaced therefrom, as will be discussed in detail hereinbelow. Openings 23 in transverse member 18 are adapted to accommodate bolts 20.

Clamp means 24 (FIGS. 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7) integral with the frame means 25 comprise a bearing member 22 fixedly secured to side frame member 14 near the junction of front leg 15 and lower leg 17, juxtaposed to the lower leg 17 and spaced therefrom, and a pressure plate 26 movably mounted on lower leg 17 of side frame 14 by means of channel 27. Other mounting means, such as a pair of U-bolts around the lower leg 17, for example, can be employed as well in lieu of channel 27. The bearing member 22 and pressure plate 26 are situated relative to each other so as to receive a lower portion 27 of lift bucket 11 therebetween and to clamp down thereon in response to the urging of a force generating means such as screw 28 which threadedly engages lower leg 17 and bears against pressure plate 26. In another embodiment of this invention a wedge means, or the like, can be driven between pressure plate 26 and lower leg 17 so that plate 26 is urged toward bearing member 22 and holds a lower portion 27 of lift bucket 1 1 securely therebetween.

Pressure plate assembly 29 (FIG. 8) comprises an inverted, U-shaped channel 27 with pressure plate 26 affixed across the lower portion thereof. Screw 28 enters through an opening 30 (FIG. 10) at the top of channel 27 and passes through washer 31 before engaging the threads cut in lower leg 17. Washer 31 is held in place by pin 32 and serves to raise pressure plate assembly 29 as camp means 24 is released from lift bucket por tion 58 by bearing against the upper inner surface of channel 27 as screw 28 moves upwardly. Nut 33 and washer 34 serve to secure screw 28 in the clamp-down position in the conventional manner.

In pressure plate assembly 29 the side portions of channel 27 are provided with aligned cut-outs 35 and 36 which can accommodate a wedge as set forth hereinabove, and can also provide means for situating pressure plate 26 transversely to the bearing member 22 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. when the cut-outs 35 and 36 are made sufficiently large to accommodate lower leg 17 of side frame member 14.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a guard 37 provided with a beveled rear surface 38 can be affixed to the underside of lower leg 17 near the rearward portion thereof so as to prevent an inadvertent contact of lift bucket portion 58 with pressure plate assembly 29 as bucket 11 is inserted into bracket 12, with the possible attendant damage to or bending of the parts.

While the converter bracket 12 is principally secured to lift bucket 11 at the lower portion 58 thereof, it is usually desirable to secure bracket 12 also to an upper portion 29 of lift bucket 11, particularly when heavy loads are to be encountered. To this end a supporting arm 40 is conveniently attached to side frame member 14 on the back leg 16 and near the upper portion thereof with a bolt 41 or the like (FIG. 2). Similarly, a supporting arm 42 (FIG. 1) can be attached to both front leg 15 and back leg 16 by means of bolts 43 and 44, or the like.

Attachment of supporting arms such as 40 or 42 to lift bucket 11 can be achieved in any convenient manner. For example, a pair of plates 45 and 46 (FIG. 1) can be pivotally mounted on supporting arm 42 by any suitable means, and can engage lift bucket 11 therebetween at any convenient location, plates 45 and 46 being pulled together by bolts or other suitable fasteners, not shown in the drawing. In the alternative, a pair of plates 47 and 48 (FIGS. 2 and 3) can be mounted on an auxiliary arm such as 49 which, in turn, is bolted on supporting arm 40 by means of bolt 52, and then fastened to upper lift bucket portion 39 with through-bolts 50 and 51. Moreover, when only one side frame member 14 is utilized to form the converter bracket, a pair of supporting arms connecting the side frame member with the upper corners of lift bucket 1 1 may be employed.

The desired working tool is conveniently affixed to converter bracket 12 by means of bolts through openings 53 and 54 (FIG. 2), in a suitable frame extension or spacer 58, or the like, or the tool can be welded onto the bracket 12, if desired, as in the case of fork lift tines, for example.

Optionally, a skid, 55 (FIGS. 2 and may be mounted under the bearing member 22 if the nature of the work to be performed so warrants, for example, when it is desired to operate a scraper blade at some distance above the ground level, as for snow removal purposes. A skid provided with up wardly curved lateral edges 56 and 57 is preferred because of its enhanced sideways mobility.

The foregoing specification and the drawings are illustrative of the present invention. Still other modifications, variations, and rearrangements of parts within the spirit and scope of this invention will be apparent to the skilled artisan.

I claim:

1. A lift bucket converter bracket comprising:

a frame means for holding a desired working tool;

a clamp means integral with said frame means comprising a bearing member immovably secured below said frame means, a pressure plate movably depending from said frame means and adapted to bear against said bearing member, and screw means threadedly engaged with said frame means and urging said pressure plate against said bearing member, said pressure plate and said bearing member receiving a lower portion of the lift bucket therebetween; and

a supporting arm extending rearwardly from the upper portion of said frame means and affixed to an upper portion of the lift bucket.

2. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 1 wherein a skid is mounted under said bearing member.

3. A lift bucket converter bracket which comprises:

a frame means adapted to hold a desired working tool and comprising at least a pair of spaced, parallel, triangularshaped side frame members each including a front leg, a back leg, and a lower leg, said front leg and said back leg converging at their upper ends, and a transverse bar removably connecting the side frame members in a spaced relationship relative to each other; and

a clamp means adapted to attach to the lower portion of the bucket and comprising a bearing member juxtaposed to the lower leg of each of said frame members, in spaced relationship thereto, and fixedly secured to the respective side frame member near the junction of the lower leg with the front leg thereof, an inverted U-shaped channel member enveloping the lower leg of each of said side frame members, a pressure plate across the bottom of said U-shaped channel member adapted to bear against said bearing member, and force generating means reacting against said frame and urging said pressure plate toward said bearing member; said pressure plate and said bearing member being adapted to receive a lower portion of the lift bucket therebetween.

4. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 3 wherein a skid provided with upwardly curved lateral edges is mounted under said bearing member.

5. A lift bucket converter bracket which comprises:

a frame means adapted to hold a desired working tool and comprising a pair of spaced, parallel, triangular-shaped side frame members each includin a front le a back leg, and a lower leg, said front leg and said backeg converging at their upper ends, and a transverse bar removably connecting the side frame members in a spaced relationship relative to each other;

a clamp means adapted to attach to the lower portion of the bucket and comprising an elongated bearing member juxtaposed to the lower leg of each of said frame members, in spaced relationship and coplanar with the respective side frame member and fixedly secured thereto near the junction of the lower leg with the front leg thereof, an inverted U-shaped channel member enveloping the lower leg of each of said side frame members, a pressure plate across the bottom of said U-shaped channel member adapted to bear against said bearing member, a screw means passing through said U-shaped channel member, threadedly engaged with said lower leg and adapted to urge said pressure plate toward said bearing member; said pressure plate and said bearing member being adapted to receive a lower portion of the lift bucket therebetween; and a supporting arm affixed to and extending rearwardly from the upper portion of each of said side frame members and adapted to attach to an upper portion of the lift bucket.

6. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 5 wherein the longitudinal dimension of said pressure plate is parallel to said bearing member.

7. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 5 wherein the longitudinal dimension of said pressure plate is transverse to said bearing member.

8. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 5 wherein a skid provided with upwardly curved lateral edges is mounted under said bearing member. 

1. A lift bucket converter bracket comprising: a frame means for holding a desired working tool; a clamp means integral with said frame means comprising a bearing member immovably secured below said frame means, a pressure plate movably depending from said frame means and adapted to bear against said bearing member, and screw means threadedly engaged with said frame means and urging said pressure plate against said bearing member, said pressure plate and said bearing member receiving a lower portion of the lift bucket therebetween; and a supporting arm extending rearwardly from the upper portion of said frame means and affixed to an upper portion of the lift bucket.
 2. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 1 wherein a skid is mounted under said bearing member.
 3. A lift bucket converter bracket which comprises: a frame means adapted to hold a desired working tool and comprising at least a pair of spaced, parallel, triangular-shaped side frame members each including a front leg, a back leg, and a lower leg, said front leg and said back leg converging at their upper ends, and a transverse bar removably connecting the side frame members in a spaced relationship relative to each other; and a clamp means adapted to attach to the lower portion of the bucket and comprising a bearing member juxtaposed to the lower leg of each of said frame members, in spaced relationship thereto, and fixedly secured to the respective side frame member near the junction of the lower leg with the front leg thereof, an inverted U-shaped channel member enveloping the lower leg of each of said side frame members, a pressure plate across the bottom of said U-shaped channel member adapted to bear against said bearing member, and force generating means reacting against said frame and urging said pressure plate toward said bearing member; said pressure plate and said bearing member being adapted to receive a lower portion of the lift bucket therebetween.
 4. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 3 wherein a skid provided with upwardly curved lateral edges is mounted under said bearing member.
 5. A lift bucket converter bracket which comprises: a frame means adapted to hold a desired working tool and comprising a pair of spaced, parallel, triangular-shaped side frame members each including a front leg, a back leg, and a lower leg, said front leg and said back leg converging at their upper ends, and a transverse bar removably connecting the side frame members in a spaced relationship relative to each other; a clamp means adapted to attach to the lower portion of the bucket and comprising an elongated bearing member juxtaposed to the lower leg of each of said frame members, in spaced relationship and coplanar with the respective side frame member and fixedly secured thereto near the junction of the lower leg with the front leg thereof, an inverted U-shaped channel member enveloping the lower leg of each of said side frame members, a pressure plate across the bottom of said U-shaped channel member adapted to bear against said bearing member, a screw means passing through said U-shaped channel member, threadedly engaged with said lower leg and adapted to urge said pressure plate toward said bearing member; said pressure plate and said bearing member being adapted to receive a lower portion of the lift bucket therebetween; and a supporting arm affixed to and extending rearwardly from the upper portion of each of said side frame members and adapted to attach to an upper portion of the lift bucket.
 6. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 5 wherein the longitudinal dimension of said pressure plate is parallel to said bearing member.
 7. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 5 wherein the longitudinal dimension of said pressure plate is transverse to said bearing member.
 8. A lift bucket converter bracket in accordance with claim 5 wherein a skid provided with upwardly curved lateral edges is mounted under said bearing member. 